Corvus Umbra
The Corvus Umbra are a Space Marine chapter of the Raven Guard, who were founded in the 14th founding. Their gene-seed came from the Raven Guards. They are horrendously under-strength, barely fielding three companies after the many wars and treasons that have befallen their ranks. Currently led by Chapter Master Insus, the Corvus Umbra lead a thankless existence. History The First War of Silence The very first engagement the chapter was a part of was against the Thousand Sons on the world of Susor. A force of Alpha Legionares (called the Scions) had taken the planet in the hopes of opening a warp-rift and bringing an army of daemons through. Initial drop The chapter master of the time, Arcani, ordered a standard planetary drop against the planet's cities in the hopes of dividing the Scions' attention, while he, the majority 1st company and the librarius would try to attack the leadership of the enemy. As such the planetstrike was divided into four strikes, which each contained approximately 200 marines. The attacks were underway soon and the marines on the ground reported minor resistance. Arcani was confident and soon ordered a diverging attack from he original strike forces, which were to move and secure major transport and industrial facilities. These branching forces were only met with minor resistance, and managed to secure their targets with nearly no casualties. This was when Arcani was suspicious. He refused to strike with his own force until the enemy leadership had been found and all enemy forces scouted thourougly. The Deception The Corvus Umbra were dividing themselves more and more, but it was as if the Scions had dissappeared, leaving their few dead behind. Arcani feared overreaching his forces and pulled them back, leaving it to his scouts to try to find the Scions. They spent several months looking for the Scions, but in the end they gave up and decided that the Scions had run when they were met by an entire chapter. As such the chapter's forces were brought back into orbit. This was when the Scions revealed themselves. Suddenly a gigantic battle cruiser came out from a gas field, its lance cannons immediately crippling the Raven's Talons, one of the chapter's three battlebarges. While this was happening, explosive charges all over the second battlebarge Whisper, were set off, destroying its void shield, bridge and crippling its engines. In those few fateful moments, the chapter lost five captains. The Scions had planned the attack perfectly to coincide with most of the chapter being in transit and the captains of the 4th-9th companies being aboard the Whisper when the charges went off. The remaining battlebarge, Silence, which had for some reason not been targeted for the Scions' plots, activated its void shields and reared about in the hopes of limiting the losses. Emergency klaxons ringed on all ships as the enemy ship moved even closer. The Raven's Talons ''was soon brought permanently out of the battle, when lances destroyed its engines and left it drifting in space. ''Whisper ''initiated emergency repairs and began pulling out of the fight. ''Silence '' moved in to support the ''Raven's Talons. ''The fight against the Scions soon became a pitched battle, but there was little doubt that the Scions were about to finish them. But them they did something peculiar. Despite the craft's superior lances, it moved towards the Silence with ferocious speed. Soon more than a hundred Alpha Legionaries came aboard in boarding parties. The Battle of Silence ''Silence held the 1st company, chapter master Arcani and the librarius, so the battle soon became a war on home ground for the Corvus Umbra. Arcani had very quickly formulated a plan for how he was going to hold the ship. He had very quikly evacuated as many of the serfs on the lower levels as possible, so just after the Scions had landed the lower levels were depressurized to sow confusion and hopefully even fear amongst the enemy. Armed with blade, bolt and jump pack, the first company isolated the enemy and killed them off one by one, in what was more akin to a hunt than a battle in stunning silence. Arcani himself was responsible for a number of kills. Despite that they were facing the elite of the chapter, the Alpha Legion did make some progress. They placed a number of charges, destroying a reactor and a door, depressurizing a few of the upper levels and killing many serfs. However, the Scions were not done with their manipulation. They teleported half a dozen terminators onto the apothecarion deck. Arcani and his personal elite moved to intercept them, before they could do anything to the chapter's gene-seed reserves. They came too late. By the time Arcani had come to the Apothecrion levels a ninety percent of the Corvus Umbra gene-seed had been either destroyed or corrupted by a mysterious mutagen. The scions, seemingly having accomplished their goals, returned to their ship and began a warp jump. Arcani would not have it. He ordered Raven's Talons, which had mostly been evacuated but for the obligatory deck crew, to overload its remaining generators, the resulting explosion crippling the Scions' ship as it entered the warp. Aftermath Despite the loss of a battlebarge and five captains, the chapter didn't lose too many space marines. But this was likely a part of the Scions' plans. Although it might have been wiser to destroy the mutated gene-seed, Arcani decided to keep it for study and in case something went bad. He formulated a plan for what to do with the gene-seed. All the gene-seed that would be harvested directly from the chapter would be used to make more Space Marines, the ten percent that had been stored would be given to the administratum over time and the ninety percent that had been corrupted would be stored on the Silence to be used when the chapter was at its most desperate. This would prove to be a fatal mistake. Category:Space Marines Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:14th Founding Category:Raven Guard Successors